Fall 2019 welcome back from IPCE!

A letter from Director Joseph Hoereth with exciting news and updates from IPCE

Friends of IPCE,

I hope everyone is having a great start to their fall semesters. As always, I'm excited to share what the Institute has been working on this summer, and to look forward to what's next this year.

We had a busy summer conducting research and designing a survey, as we began work as part of the community engagement team for the Independent Monitor for police reform in Chicago. IPCE will work together with the Community Engagement and Independent Monitoring Team to create a comprehensive community engagement strategy that will meaningfully engage Chicago’s communities and ensure their participation throughout the monitoring process.

IPCE is also excited to support CUPPA’s UIC Urban Forum. The Forum this year will take place on September 19 with the topic, "Are we there yet?: The myths and realities of autonomous vehicles." The forum will include panels on autonomous vehicles’ effect on the private sector, traffic, and keynotes from experts in the industry.

We will host two Civic Engagement Lunch Talks this semester. Dr. Sage Kim of the School of Public will present her research on community engagement within communities that are medically-underserved on September 18 in the School of Public Health. We will also host Dr. Yamilé Molina from the Center for Research on Women and Gender. Dr. Molina will present research on community-health-related civic engagement among Latinas in November. Stay tuned to our website and social channels for updates on these talks!

We are proud to welcome 27 undergraduate students in the Urban Public Policy Fellowship program for the 2019-2020 academic year. This cohort represents a large array of policy and research interests, and I am excited to see their progression as leaders as they navigate their internships and research projects throughout the academic year.

In terms of Institute events, IPCE is partnering with other UIC units and research centers to support the Future of Chicago Speaker Series, a Student National Issues Convention, the UIC Urban Forum, and others. We are also pleased to host two more of our Space to Engage open dialogue spaces this semester, on October 3 and November 14. Space to Engage is an opportunity for folks from across campus to come together, eat, and engage in discourse and discovery about relevant issues in our communities. The topics for our Fall Space to Engage series will be announced soon.

We are excited to announce the research projects that the Institute will be helping to fund this year as part of our Civic Engagement Research Awards. The awardees are as follows: Nicole Nguyen is doing research on mental health and anti-terrorism initiatives; Kathleen Yang-Clayton and Janet Smith will conduct research on redistricting and the 2020 Census; Thea Crum and Alexander Linares will work on participatory budgeting in schools; and Ning Ai is doing research on food scarcity and resource-sharing strategies.

IPCE is also accepting applications now for our Discourse Awards, which are funding awards for UIC faculty and research staff who host a public discourse event about public policy. Learn more about our Discourse Awards on our website’s Engagement page.

Please keep in touch with us either through our newsletter, social media, or website to make sure you’re always in the know when we announce events, awards, or newly published research.

I hope to see you at one of our events this semester,

Joseph K. Hoereth, PhD